Not all faculty at Loyola are following the protocol of posting course default and term syllabuses to LORA.
Kathy Gros, director of student records and registration services, brought the issue to the Standing Council for Academic Planning on March 1.
Gros said 85 percent of courses were submitted with a syllabus for the spring 2011 semester.
“It is not necessary for faculty to post both a term syllabus and a default syllabus, but they should have a term syllabus if no other is posted,” Gros said.
A default syllabus explains a basic course description including textbooks, grading policy and attendance policy. A term syllabus provides detailed course descriptions for the specific term and includes exam dates, or any changes to the default syllabus.
Associate professor of sociology and vice chairman of SCAP Marcus Kondkar suggested that faculty members may prefer their syllabusses on Blackboard. Having prior knowledge of the course can help students’ enrollment decisions because of textbook costs and the professor’s requirements, said Jack Hickey, business junior.
Gros said she has encouraged faculty members to contact the Office of Student Records if they have trouble posting their syllabusses. She also said that Loyola will continue to work with faculty to ensure that students will know what is expected from them during registration.
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